GameStop iOS trade-ins a big success

GameStop recently started taking trade-ins on iOS hardware, and it turns out the decision was a great one for the company: President Tony Bartel said in a statement that the program "has exceeded our expectations," especially citing lots of post-holiday traffic, as people bring in their old iPhones and iPads to clear them out of the way for newer models received as presents. GameStop will reportedly pay out up to $300 for iPhones and $400 for iPads, but of course those prices are for the highest-end and latest models. Odds are that you'll get significantly less for an older model or one with no 3G or less RAM flash storage.

But it is interesting to hear that GameStop is seeing lots and lots of devices come in. Unfortunately, they didn't share actual numbers, but I'd argue that there are plenty of other places to get rid of iPhones and iPads -- I've sold my old devices on Craigslist, and just over the Internet to friends and even family. Then again, maybe some people prefer just walking into a GameStop and walking out with store credit or cash. This may be a trend to watch in the new year -- as Apple releases more iterations of their various mobile devices, we'll undoubtedly see more markets like this pop up for older versions and used items.